Hijab in Twitter

June 2018

Special Section: Social Media in the Middle East

Social media is powerful. Communication is a formidable tool for empowerment. Citizens can use social media to communicate to influence large audiences, to build group identity and unity, and to expose abuses. Social media can give voice to the voiceless. People can become empowered.

In an interconnected world, the autocratic will continue to face challenges with the digital. Savvy users persist to find methods to bypass communication suppression, much like the 46% of survey respondents in Arab regions reporting multiple accounts on a single social networking system platform.

–Christine Perakslis

Free Online Content

• The Ultimate Black Box by Krishna Sood Posted in: Ethics, Industry View, Magazine Articles, Robotics, Social Implications of Technology - Developers face a conundrum when launching software that must be equipped to make a moral judgment. Algorithms are being programmed to make consequential decisions… ...  Read More
• Defending Against Opaque Algorithmic Meddling in Free Elections by Joe Carvalko Posted in: Editorial & Opinion, Magazine Articles, Privacy & Security, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - As social media serves to transform free speech the world over, a pervasive infiltration of the information highway is underway… ...  Read More
• Mundane Is the New Radical by Rebekah Shirley and Daniel Kammen Posted in: Editorial & Opinion, Environment, Human Impacts, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - The increasing number of dam projects deployed in developing countries over the last two decades that perform poorly illustrate a disconnect between planners, stakeholders, and… ...  Read More
• That Dragon, Cancer by Shoshana Eilon Posted in: Human Impacts, Leading Edge, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - Thank You for Playing explores the very personal experiences of a family battling cancer, and the beauty and hope that can be found… ...  Read More
• Publish or Impoverish by Jeremy Pitt Posted in: Editorial & Opinion, Magazine Articles, Social Implications of Technology, Societal Impact - It can be glibly asserted that technology makes accomplishing various activities easier. But it is not always obvious for whom it makes it easier to accomplish… ...  Read More
• Digital Empowerment and Socio-Political Stability by Christine Perakslis Posted in: Last Word, Magazine Articles, Societal Impact - Social media (SM) usage is increasing across the globe. Of the 7.6 billion people populating earth, 4 billion are believed to be Internet users. Over 3… ...  Read More
• President’s Message – Operationalizing SSIT’s 5 Pillars by Paul Cunningham Posted in: Magazine Articles, President's Message, Societal Impact - SSIT Pillar 4 is dedicated to Societal Impact of Technology. Pillar 4 focuses on highlighting and supporting the development of… ...  Read More

NOTE: Most IEEE Technology and Society Magazine columns and department articles are publicly accessible at no charge. Click on the title of any non-refereed article to read.

SSIT membership (subscription) is required to access refereed articles (marked with asterisk).